Alaskan children account for an increasing proportion of state coronavirus cases

Alaskan children who are too young to be vaccinated are increasing the rate of coronavirus infections as Delta variants are boosting the number of cases across the state, state officials said.

According to new data from the State Department of Health, 15% of Alaska’s coronavirus cases last month were children under the age of 11.

That’s about twice as much as it was a year ago, when children of that age accounted for just under 7% of all cases in July 2020. And during the Alaska surge in November 2020, they accounted for 8% of all infections.

Dr. Lisara Vinowitz, a physician at the Alaska COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, is not surprised that infants now account for a larger proportion of Alaska’s coronavirus cases.this is It’s happening all over the country, Delta variants continue to be torn across the country, with more people coming directly than last year. The Pfizer vaccine is approved for Americans over the age of 12, but younger children are not yet qualified and unprotected.

“Cases in the unvaccinated group within the population when infected with a highly contagious virus, such as a delta variant, which can easily infect people, especially if not vaccinated. Increased, followed by increased hospitalizations, “Rabinowitz said.

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Rabinowitz and a local pediatrician say that no child died of the coronavirus in Alaska and rarely get sick enough to hospitalize a young child. However, they say there is concern about an increase in cases in July given the uncertainty about the long-term effects of the coronavirus. And the virus shows no signs of slowing down this month.

“I think children will get a little better with this virus, but it’s still quite possible that they will get very sick,” Rabino Witz said. “And it was definitely seen in Alaska.”

Since the pandemic began, the state has reported 38 COVID-19 hospitalizations among Alaskans under the age of 17. This represents 2% of all Alaska coronavirus hospitalizations. Rabino Witz said he had recently seen a “slight rise.”

She said the state does not have data on how many of the 716 children under the age of 12 who were positive for coronavirus last month showed symptoms. That number is comparable to the January level, but still half the number seen in Alaska in November 2020.

Rabinowitz said questions remain about how many children will experience long COVIDs.

By the end of last week, she said, the state had 12 recorded cases of a serious condition called pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome that could appear weeks after a coronavirus infection. There were some more cases under investigation.

Related: COVID-19 cases stress Anchorage intensive care unit

At Anchorage’s La Touche Pediatrics, Dr. Erin MacArthur said the COVID-19 test was positive at all ages, from babies to teens.

“Half of August has as many positive cases as all of July,” she said. “It’s definitely on the rise.”

She said some children had no symptoms and were in the clinic because of another illness or because they needed a test before they could participate in the activity.

Others said she had symptoms. Some people have diarrhea. Some people have a fever or cough, while others say they can’t taste or smell. In general, children have mild symptoms and hospitalization for severe illness remains rare, she said.

“At this point, we don’t see the seriousness that seems to be reported in the 48 states of the mainland US,” MacArthur said. But the situation “evolves and is different every day,” she added.

Another Alaskan pediatrician, Wesley Gifford, also said this month that he seems to be encountering more coronaviruses than ever before.

Gifford, a pediatric hospitalist at Anchorage, said: “I have children who need to be hospitalized for another reason, but they happen to be infected with COVID, so I need to figure out how to get them into a safe room in the hospital. Or, last week, the mother of COVID. I have three people, so I try to isolate my mother from the baby as much as possible. “

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When Gifford sees children infected with the coronavirus in the hospital, they are almost always young — an age group that is not yet vaccinated. People who are ill enough to be hospitalized usually need oxygen or other respiratory assistance.

“Most of the COVIDs we dealt with last year seemed to happen to adults, and I think the whole community, the whole country, was surprised that children were spared as much as they were.” He said. “But now we have an incident.”

State Health Department Rabinowitz said health officials will continue to closely monitor data on coronavirus infections in children in Alaska, especially as schools reopen this week.

She encourages the COVID-19 vaccine for Alaskans over the age of 12. She said slowing the spread of the virus would help protect children who are too young to be vaccinated and keep school classrooms open.

“We hope that the more vaccinated Alaska’s population, the fewer cases of infection,” she said. “And when the younger age group is targeted for vaccination, I hope it will also improve.”

Related: Shots against COVID for children under 12 years old? I answered your question.

MacArthur said he supported the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for face masks, including wearing them in school buildings.

She also recommends that families with children focus on keeping their immune system healthy by eating a balanced diet and getting enough sleep. She also said that hand washing was the key.